Boston College Establishes National Research and Training Center on Social Work and HIV/AIDS

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BOSTON COLLEGE ESTABLISHES NATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER ON SOCIAL WORK AND HIV/AIDS

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (12-2-97) -- In an effort to expand its work in one of the most critical areas facing social work professionals, the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work has established the National Research and Training Center on Social Work and HIV/AIDS.

The center will serve as a clearinghouse for sponsored programs, projects and activities that focus on prevention and other services to client populations who are particularly vulnerable to the disease, according to its director, Vincent Lynch, who has been a key organizer of an annual, national conference on AIDS and HIV issues in social work. To help carry out its initiatives, the center has appointed several social work experts in HIV and AIDS as associates, he said.

"We consider it very timely to put an emphasis on training and research related to HIV and AIDS," Lynch said. "In the popular media there is the perception that AIDS and HIV are leveling off. The overall numbers of people with the disease may be down, but it is sky-rocketing in certain populations, including the poor and people of color.

"Social work has an historic commitment to serve those who are most in need and who have little economic or social resources," Lynch continued. "The profession can play a leadership role in addressing HIV and AIDS issues, and we hope the center will help make this happen."

The center's first initiatives will be sponsorship of the annual HIV/AIDS conference, which will observe its 10th anniversary when it is held May 27-30 in New Orleans, Lynch said, as well as a conference in Atlanta Feb. 20-22 on HIV prevention strategies for African-Americans. The center plans to publish proceedings from the annual conference, said Lynch.

Lynch said he and the other center associates will convene a three-day retreat in early 1998 to refine the center's mission statement, develop a three-year agenda for research and training, and create a plan for seeking external funding for center projects. He noted the center has formed strong ties with Glaxo Wellcome Inc. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have helped fund, respectively, the annual conference and the February event in Atlanta.

"We've been very pleased with the support we've received, and we'll continue to build on it," said Lynch. "We feel the center's organizational structure, using the network of associates, will be very effective. It will be a center with a national reach, but without a lot of associated administrative costs."

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